News tagged with 'Crashworthiness'

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave four small sport-utility vehicles top scores in recently completed crash test evaluations. Consumers now have a few hybrid SUVs that have earned Top Safety Pick to choose from.

Sport utility vehicles continue to test poorly in rollover assessments according to a new study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA Tuesday released the results from the inquiry, which examined 14 sport utility vehicles from the 2003 model year. None of the automobiles tested we

A Federal judge in Illinois Tuesday ordered Ford Motor Company to turn over all safety information it has obtained on the company's 15-passenger vans and fined the automaker for concealing evidence about the controversial van model. Plaintiff attorneys filed a motion to impose sanctions against Ford after determining

The safety of Ford Motor Company's controversial 15-passenger vans will be reviewed in Federal court next month as the automobile maker faces accusations it withheld test data on the vehicles. The new case, scheduled for trial February 24, stems from a lawsuit involving the deaths of two van passengers in an accident

Less than a day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a warning concerning the safety of 15-passenger vans, officials with consumer watchdog Public Citizen released a statement calling the alert ineffective. On Monday, the NHTSA reissued a cautionary warning to users of 15-passenger v

In another devastating turn of events for Ford and Firestone, a federal judge last week granted class-action status to product liability lawsuits stemming from the Firestone tire recall. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker's ruling allows anyone who owned or leased a 1991-2001 Ford Explorer on or before August 9, 2

In another devastating turn of events for Ford and Firestone, a federal judge last week granted class-action status to product liability lawsuits stemming from the Firestone tire recall. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker's ruling allows anyone who owned or leased a 1991-2001 Ford Explorer on or before August 9, 2

Ford officials recently requested that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to postpone crash tests of the new 2002 Ford Explorer. Ford officials said the current design is safe but the company is adding steel to the SUV's body in order to reinforce the vehicle. By implementing this new safety measure, Ford off

Months before the trial was scheduled to begin, a lawsuit involving a Ford Explorer rollover settled for $22 million. The 1992 Ford Explorer rolled over when a car traveling along Chicago's Eisenhower Expressway nicked the driver's side rear wheel well. The driver, Nabil Boury, sustained minor injuries in the acci

Ford Motor Company recently began a publicity campaign to promote its newly redesigned Explorer SUV. However, the automaker's marketing materials fail to mention that only the four-door model of the popular vehicle has been redesigned. The two-door Explorer Sport, the more dangerous model, has not been redesigned.

Ford Motor Co. will stop using P235/70R1616-size General Ameri 550 AS tires as replacements for Firestone tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that the General Ameri model reported tread failures of 124 per million, well in excess of the 9 failures per million of the rec

Sixteen days after his twin brother died, Ron Carmichael was killed in a car accident on I-75 in Ocala, Florida. Carmichael, his wife and two sons were traveling home from a family camping trip that followed his twin's funeral. Don Carmichael died July 4, 2001 at Bon Secours-Venice Hospital while working as th

A lawsuit stemming from a deadly 1992 Ford Explorer accident involving four teenage girls recently settled for $22 million. Two of the girls lost their lives in the accident and two others were seriously injured. The suit alleged that the Ford Explorer is unreasonably dangerous due to its high center of gravity, inhe

Ford Motor Company is beefing up its Washington, D.C. office in anticipation of further legal wrangling over the safety of the Ford Explorer . After Congressional hearings last month in which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hinted that it might open an official investigation into Ford's pop

Ford is soon expected to announce its decision on whether to remove certain tires from its list of replacements for the Firestone Wilderness ATs. Questions were raised during last week's congressional hearings regarding the failure rate of the tires Ford has been using as replacements for the Firestones. Congressma